Cinderella Penguin, or, The Little Glass Flipper

by Janet Perlman

All cultures share the traditional story of Cinderella--even penguin culture!

Poor Cinderella Penguin is bossed and bullied by her evil penguin stepsisters as they get dolled up for the Penguin Prince's ball. After they have gone, a penguin tear rolls down Cinderella's cheek. "Suddenly, in a glow of bright blue light, the Great Fairy Penguin appeared before her." And the rest is penguin history."

A Children's Choice Award winner

"Lots of fun."-- Booklist

Genres: Picture Books, Fairy Tales, Childrens, Cinderella, Animals, Fantasy, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[Debbie W. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious fractured fairy tale!

[La Coccinelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

At this point, if you're going to retell a fairy tale, you need to be able to bring something new or different to it. Either that, or the illustrations need to be spectacular. This book just didn't get there for me, as it's a basic retelling with very few changes from the original and the illustrations are nothing special.

This is just "Cinderella" but with penguins in all the roles. Even the mice and horses are penguins. The only thing that's a little different is that when the Prince's footmen come looking for Cinderella, her family shoves her in the cellar and her foot gets caught sticking out of the cellar door; when the stepsisters fight over the glass flipper and drop it, it lands squarely on her foot, fitting perfectly. You can guess the rest.

Maybe this was original when it was first published in 1992, but there have been so many fairy tale retellings in recent years that I suspect there are probably some better ones out there. This one is pretty weak. The penguins' expressions are kind of goofy and the book tells the story fairly well, but it's not something I'd particularly want to read again.

[Marquise · Rating 1 out of 5]

Meh, this just replaced the human girl with a penguin and called it a "retelling." It's neither cute nor funny.

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read "Cinderella Penguin, or, The Little Glass Flipper" by Janet Perlman. I found this book on Epic Books and it includes audio, as well. I picked this book because this was a book my mom bought me when I was a little girl. I was completely obsessed with this book because it was Cinderella but with penguins! I loved animals and still do. The storyline is the same as the traditional book. This book creates a fun spin on the traditional book. This book can be used to compare and contrast the traditional book to this one; finding similarities and differences.

[Tessa Duncan · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Cinderella goes to the ball, she gets her fairy god mother to give her beautiful glass flippers. But she lives one behind running away at midnight. When the prince goes house to house trying to find his beautiful Cinderella, her step sisters lock her in the basement (with one of her flippers sticking up). The glass flipper falls on her flipper, and she lives happily ever after with her prince.

[Claire Healy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I discovered the book Cinderella Penguin, or, The Little Glass Flipper by Janet Perlman on the Ashland University Library website and read it digitally on Epic. The story closely follows the traditional Cinderella tale, but with a twist: all the characters are penguins. This retelling is suitable for children aged 5–8.
The illustrations are drawn in a colorful, cartoon style, portraying the penguins in elaborate costumes and with the setting of the grand castle. Both single and double page spreads are used, with page panels framed in a brown border resembling picture frames. The artwork effectively conveys the characters, plot, setting, and theme.
This retelling includes all the essential elements of traditional literature including plot, action, characters, setting, theme, and the classic fairy tale ending. The plot is simple and engaging, starting with Cinderella, the penguin, who is left out of the ball until her fairy godmother steps in. She meets a charming prince but has to leave at midnight, leaving behind a glass flipper. Eventually, the prince finds her, and they live happily ever after. The characters are easy to identify as "good" or "bad," with Cinderella, the fairy godmother, and the prince as the heroes, while her stepmother and stepsisters represent the villains. The setting aligns with classic tales, beginning with, “There once was a young penguin who lived in a faraway land…,” and the story’s theme highlights that kindness is rewarded, whereas selfishness is not.
While students may enjoy the penguin characters, I would not recommend this book for the classroom. The storyline mirrors the original tale very closely and does not have any components that make it special or unique, including the illustrations. I think there would be better adaptations of Cinderella to read in the classroom.

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

This version didn't really make it for me although I can understand the gist of liking for others. First of all there are definite penguin fans out there and then there are those who would like the cartoonist look.

For being a penguin version I would hope the penguins would more or less act more like penguins. Although originally human it could have been pulled off.

Secondly there were preposterous situations. Why is it Cinderella is the only one with hair? True one of the costumes have curls but otherwise the birds are bald if it weren't for their feathers.

And finally by the illustrations and the look of a penguin foot I can't even imagine how they got the slippers or ant shoes on for that matter of fact.

All in all a decent book if you want an easy read or one that may catch the eyes of children.

[Charles Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the book could have played up the use of penguins more in this story. Aside from the glass flipper, a trap door, and the funny pictures, it wasn't too far removed from the original story. If I were to use this in the classroom, I would voice my negative opinion of the lack of humor in the book. Then, I would have the students brainstorm humorous ideas to make the story more penguin-y in its humor. After the group modeled how to create a humorous animal version, I would break the students in to smaller groups and have them write and publish their own animal Cinderella tales. For example, "Oinkarella and the Mud Slipper" comes to mind, because she's some pig.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be blunt, this book is nothing special. It is just a basic retelling of Cinderella, but all of the characters are penguins and the glass slipper is now a glass flipper. There is nothing new added to the story.

It also does contain a problematic line that I would personally not read to children. On page 8*, it says that the step sisters eat “the tiniest of meals” so they could have “the tiniest waists.” I personally do not believe that children should be exposed to those sort of unhealthy dieting habits.

*I am a teacher that reads books on Epic. It is page 8 on Epic. It could be different in the physical book.

I will say the writing and illustration was done well.

[Cassandra M · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the audio version of this book on YouTube. There was a soft background music that was added to the video when the book was read aloud, which was a nice touch. One thought that came to mind, when I was listening to the book, was the way the author described how the sisters ate the tiniest meals in order to have the tiniest waists. Even though this is a fictional story, this could send a message to readers that they should eat tiny meals in order to have tiny waists. The other parts in the story followed much of the traditional Cinderella.

[Emily Alig · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fun change to the classic cinderella story we all know. This story is fun for children who already know how the original story goes, and could be a good way for children to see the difference between the original and this new story. This could be a good activity for students to make a chart or venn diagram to compare differences and find similarities between the two stories.

[Katie Sproles · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is without a doubt the sweetest version of Cinderella that I have read. It follows the story line almost perfectly but a simple character change from humans to penguins make it seem so different and unique. I really had a good time reading this book and falling in love with this version of Cinderella

[Rachel Turner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poor Cinderella Penguin is bossed and bullied by her evil penguin stepsisters as they get dolled up for the Penguin Prince's ball. After they have gone, a penguin tear rolls down Cinderella's cheek. "Suddenly, in a glow of bright blue light, the Great Fairy Penguin appeared before her." And the rest is penguin history."

[Litwithlove · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you want the story of Cinderella told almost shot by shot the same, but with ugly penguin illustrations. I dont mind the Cinderella story at all, but reading this to my 5 year old was underwhelming for us both. The art style, lack of humor and originality make for a 1 star retelling of a classic.

[Chelsie Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this different take on the Cinderella we all know and love. our penguin has a glass flipper, not a shoe and the ending is a wonderful illustration of prince and princess penguin with lots of eggs and a growing family. I love it!

[Gabriella Bumbaca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: Traditional Fantasy
Grade: 2-3
Review:
This is definitely more of a comical version of the Cinderella story. It still have the same overall concept but with a little twist. I think students who are familiar with the original story will find this book very amusing.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a funny retelling of Cinderella, but with Cinderella as a penguin. In fact, everyone is a penguin and the glass slipper is a flipper made of glass. It's a fun way of seeing this story. Great illustrations, and funny, too.

[Lauren Hoffman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book was good for younger children because it is silly since it uses penguins to act like the original Cinderella story in a way.

[Jessica Pinnick · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite funny, nontraditional versions of this book. This would be a great one to compare to the other versions.

[Zawadi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful! Breathtaking! Stupendous! I love it!!

[Louis Weintraub · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little confusing when the penguin mice turn into penguin horses. I am having trouble explaining that to my toddler.

[Lindsay Lodge · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just the story of Cinderella with penguins. Not quite what I was expecting and quite disappointing. Pointless, I think.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is nothing spectacular about this book, but it is a fun twist on a familiar tale and kids seem to really like it. The "glass flipper" was cute.

[Isaac · Rating 5 out of 5]

"It was funny how it was a human story but it was a penguin! It was a little different than the usual Cinderella story. I liked it." --Isaac, age 5

[Jessie Radford · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book from my childhood! I found this the other day at work when someone placed a hold on it. I was so happy to read over it again. Such an adorable retelling of Cinderella

[Frans Kempe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun version

[jessica burger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cute

[Joy Gerbode · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a somewhat silly version of Cinderella, but true to the original story. Instead of a glass slipper there is a "glass flipper" ...

[Katie Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute retelling of Cinderella. Basically the same story with not much differences from the traditional story.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

nothing new or funny, just cinderella told with penguins in place of people